Hold My Hand

You don’t need to make big gestures,
spend all your money, hand me the moon,
photograph or paint me in vivid pictures,
or feed me exotic food on a silver spoon.

As the Beatles sang in our distant youth,
I want to hold your hand.

You don’t have to pretend to understand
every single poem I’ve ever composed,
take me on trips that you’ve secretly planned,
serenade with a song or give me a red rose.

As the Beatles sang in our distant youth,
please just hold my hand.

Kim M. Russell, 14th February 2023

Free image by Jonathan Cooper on Unsplash

The Tuesday’s Poetics at the dVerse Poets Pub is hosted by Sanaa, who wishes us a happy Valentine’s Day! She wants us to state what’s in the heart plainly, and gives us as an example a wonderful poem by Rumi.

Sanaa says that ‘over the decades, we have come across millions of poems with flowery language and lush metaphors. The kind that leaves one feeling breathless’. Her question is, ‘Why go overboard? Why must we feel overwhelmed by the need to use imagery, symbolism and diction?’

She says that there is ‘nothing more powerful than raw emotion. Nothing more meaningful than moments shared, lost and recalled. The feeling of love need not be embellished’, which is why the challenge for today’s Poetics is to write love poems that don’t need to be romantic; can be dark and speak of ache and loss; transcend words and language; describe what the heart has been carrying within for a long time.  

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48 thoughts on “Hold My Hand”

  1. This is soo beautiful, Kim! 😍 The act of holding hands indeed is a great gesture of love and a deeper bond that is shared between two people. I especially admire; “You don’t have to pretend to understand every single poem I’ve ever composed, take me on trips that you’ve secretly planned,”… sigh .. thank you so much for writing to the prompt! ❤️❤️

    Happy Valentine’s Day 🌹🌹

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  7. The simplest, gestures of love, we shared, at the very start of our romantic relationships, those that do not cost anything, are usually the first to go, as our lives get, taken over, by the commercialism of this world, we started believing, that we need to spend a whole lot of money to show that we care about each other, not knowing, that a hug that comes as needed would, do the, trick!

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  19. I LOVE this! Well….a night out for dinner with a silver spoon might be nice once in a while 🙂 I call this “comfortable love” which is the ideal and ultimate goal of a valentine love 🙂

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      1. O Kim, you have hit our, Mrs. Jim’s and mine, nail right on the head, “As the Beatles sang in our distant youth, please just hold my hand.” We were grown when the O Kim, you have hit our, Mrs. Jim’s and mine, nail right on the head, “As the Beatles sang in our distant youth, please just hold my hand.” We were grown when the Beatles came out, seldom a does a morning in church go without us sitting quietly holding hands. Or other places as well.
        ..

        Like

  20. O Kim, you have hit our, Mrs. Jim’s and mine, nail right on the head, “As the Beatles sang in our distant youth, please just hold my hand.” We were grown when the Beatles came out, seldom a does a morning in church go without us sitting quietly holding hands. Or other places as well.
    ..

    Like

    Reply

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